Method of unwinding yarn from packages arrayed in series



Feb. 18, 1969 J. M. HORWOOD ET AL 3,428,269 METHOD OF UNWINDING YARN FROM PACKAGES ARRAYED IN SERIES Filed July 11, 1966 Sheet of 2 Feb. 18, 1969 M, HORWOOD ETAL 3,

METHOD OF UNWINDING YARN FROM PACKAGES ARRAYED IN SERIES File ad July 11, 1966 Sheet 3 of 2 A ttorney:

United States Patent 3,428,269 METHOD OF UNWINDING YARN FROM PACKAGES ARRAYED IN SERIES John Maurice Horwood, Llanyravon, Cwmbran, England, Allen Gunter, Gilwern, Wales, and Albert John Fry, Abersychan, England, assignors to Imperial Chemical Industries Limited, London, England, a corporation of Great Britain Filed July 11, 1966, Ser. No. 564,241 Claims priority, application Great Britain, July 16, 1965,

30,271/65 US. or. 242-428 Int. Cl. B65h 49/20,- D01h 13/04 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to methods of processing yarn by overend unwinding from a series of yarn packages, in which continuity of yarn from beginning to end of the series is achieved by joining the transfer tail of one package to the leading end of the yarn on the next, and in which series the axes of the packages intersect at a common yarn guide orifice through which the yarn can be withdrawn from the packages in turn with balloon formation.

The present invention has special relevance to methods of processing yarns from a multiplicity of pairs of bobbins arranged in ordered rows on a frame in the manner termed magazine creeling. In magazine creel-ing, the pairs of bobbins are arranged so that the axes of their component bobbins intersect at a convenient acute angle and at a yarn guide orifice through which the yarn is withdrawn above the level of the bobbin retaining swivel arms. The orifice is disposed at a distance from the forward ends of the bobbins that conveniently allows proper and controlled balloon formation at the desired yarn withdrawal speed.

For reasons essentially related to the desired particular geometry of such arrangements of packages as hereinbefore described, it is commonly found that the static length of yarn that is formed when the transfer tail of one package is joined to the leading end of the yarn on the next package interferes with proper balloon formation at certain points during the unwinding process, and in some cases that static length of yarn becomes entangled with the running yarn in the balloon with consequent yarn breakage or filamentation or, at least, severe tension fluctuation.

Attempts to overcome this difiiculty have included arranging that the static length of yarn extending between the packages is at high tension and extends between those ends of the packages that are furthest from the yarn guide orifice. Further efforts have included an arrangement whereby the static length of yarn is passed between two retaining tapes, one disposed above the other, and the use of guides surfaced with brushed nylon fabric. Such attempts, however, have been in the main somewhat of a compromise since, while reducing the frequency of interruptions in yarn unwinding, they have involved excessive variations in tension in the running yarn as the balloon transfers from one package to another.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide improved means for the unwinding of yarns for further processing from packages arranged in series.

It is another object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages outlined above, while at the same time allowing continuous and controlled balloon formation during unwinding.

A further object of the invention is to provide a means whereby no excessive variation in tension occurs during the transfer of a running threadline from one bobbin to another.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a means whereby yarns of low denier may be continuously unwound without difiiculty.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of an improved method for the withdrawal of yarns for warp beaming from a multiplicity of pairs of bobbins arranged in series.

These objects are achieved by providing a method of processing yarn withdrawn from two packages arranged in series, which packages are arranged so that their axes intersect at an acute angle at a yarn guide orifice through which yarn is withdrawn with balloon formation, continuity of yarn from the first to the other package being provided through a transfer tail on the first package joined to the leading yarn end of the other package,- wherein the path followed by the static length of yarn extending between the two packages is determined by a resilient yarn guide around which the yarn is guided so that it is remote from the balloon at all stages during the unwinding of the first of the two packages, and which device is so constructed that, when said first package has fully unwound and the tension in the yarn led around the guide begins to increase, the guide resiliently pivots on continued yarn withdrawal to allow the yarn to slide over an end of the guide and out of engagement therewith without substantial increase in tension.

The yarn guide device may be of very simple and inexpensive design and would invariably in practice be so mounted as to allow fine adjustment of its position relative to the packages between which it would be situated.

Further objects and advantages will appear from a consideration of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view which diagrammatically indicates the creel unwinding position embodying the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of our preferred yarn guiding device.

FIGURES 3 and 4 are side elevations of two further yarn guiding devices applicable to the present invention.

The general arrangement of the preferred embodiment of the invention is best shown in FIGURE 1. Two bobbins 4 lie with their axes intersecting at a yarn guide orifice through which yarn is withdrawn for further processposition relative to the bobbin controls the formation of the yarn balloon 2 according to a given yarn withdrawal speed.

The two bobbins extend at about 15 to the horizontal and their axes intersect at about 45 at a yarn guide orifice through which yarn is withdrawn for further processmg.

The short, resilient, moulded polyethylene guiding devices 3 extend generally through the plane containing the bobbin axes during unwinding and are situated between the rnore widely spaced ends of the two bobbins, where they are attached by means of a bifurcated end located around the bobbin spindles 16 to the swivel arms 1 of the creel magazine.

The transfer tail 14 of the left hand bobbin is, before unwinding begins, joined 5 to the leading end 15 of the ,when the left hand bobbin is unwound.

This is achieved, by leading the said yarn around the resilient yarn guiding device. The bridging yarn passes between the arms of the yarn guide under just sufficient tension to keep it taut.

Although in our preferred embodiment we envisage a moulded polyethylene guiding device, any material having adequate resiliency so as to function as hereinabove described may be used.

An alternative yarn guiding device is shown in FIG- URE 3, which comprises a generally U-shaped rigid rod 8 that has one branch of the U somewhat longer than the other. Press fitted onto the end portion of the shorter branch of the U-shaped rod is a moulded rubber piece 10 consisting of a tubular portion carrying an annular flange at one end. The end portion of the said branch of the U-shaped rod is encased within only a short portion of the length of the tubular portion on the nonfian'ged end. Into the other end of the tubular portion is press fitted a short rigid ceramic or chromium plated rod 9, so that part of the length of the tube extends between the encased end of the two rods so providing a hinge about which resiliently-resisted pivoting of the short rigid rod with respect to the branch of the generally U-shaped rod on which it is mounted can take place. Close to its unencased end, the U-shaped rod is clamped to a swivel arm of the creel magazine. Yarn is prevented from descending on to or below the hinge provided by the tubular portion of the moulded rubber piece by the said flange.

A further alternative yarn guiding device is shown in FIGURE 4, and comprises a generally U-shaped rod 11 which may be formed by extrusion of a synthetic polymer, for example, a polyamide such as nylon or a polyolefin such as polypropylene, or another material that has an adequate resiliency for the device to function as hereinafter described. One of the branches of the generally U-shaped rod is bifurcated over its end portion 13 and, at a point towards the middle of that branch, it has reduced diameter so as to create a hinge 12 about which the bifurcated end portion can pivot. This form of device may be mounted and used in a similar fashion to the device indicated in FIGURE 3, the one arm of the bifurcated end portion of the U-shaped rod serving as the aforesaid short rigid rod (the yarn having been led between the arms of the said bifurcated end portion) and the other arm performing the function of the aforesaid annular flange.

Instead of being wholly formed of a resilient material, this form of device could have been formed of two separate rigid portions arranged end to end with a short gap between them with adjacent ends encased in opposite end portions of a short rod or tube formed of resilient material, such as rubber, providing a hinge.

Smooth transfer from a state of steady withdrawal of yarn from one bobbin to a state of steady withdrawal of yarn from the other bobbin is found to occur during the unwinding process by reason of the short resilient moulding in FIGURE 2 or the short rigid but hinged rods in FIGURES 3 and 4, being resiliently and pivotly displaced when the said bridging yarn is withdrawn towards the yarn guide orifice after the first bobbin has been fully unwound. The yarn that engages the guiding device during unwinding of the first bobbin slips off the end of the guide without any substantial increase in its tension.

The maximum level of tension in the said bridging yarn at transfer from one bobbin to another will, of course, in any given case be determined according to well-known principles by the dimensions, position and resiliency of the yarn guiding devices and a few simple trials will enable an acceptable arrangement to be arrived at in any given case. The said pair of bobbins and the said yarn guiding devices constitute one unit of a system in which a multiplicity of such units may be arranged in rows on a frame in a manner termed magazine creeling and from which a multiplicity of yarns can be simultaneously withdrawn and wound onto a warp beam.

Unwinding in the opposite direction, that is, from right to left hand bobbins will, of course, produce exactly the same satisfactory results.

It is obvious that similar changes may be made in the detailed arrangements of the above described without departing from the essence of the invention and in this respect the invention is not limited except as set forth in the following claims.

What we claim is:

1. In a method of processing yarn withdrawn from two packages arranged in series, which packages are arranged so that their axes intersect at an acute angle at a yarn guide orifice through which yarn is withdrawn with balloon formation, continuity of yarn from the first to the other package being provided through a transfer tail on said first packaige joined to the leading yarn end of the said other package, the step of guiding the free end portions of the packages which are joined together remote from the balloon at all stages during unwinding of said first package by means of a resilient yarn guide one end of which is located close to the fixed end of at least one of the packages, the other end of said guide being bifurcate-like in shape and projecting into the intervening space between the two packages, such guide being so positioned that when said first package has been unwound and the tension in the yarn led around the guide tends to increase, the guide resiliently moves on continued yarn withdrawal to allow the yarn to slide over said one end of the guide and out of engagement therewith without substantial increase in tension.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 in which said guide is a resilient moulding of polyethylene.

3. In yarn unwinding apparatus of the type including two yarn packages arranged so that their axes intersect at an acute angle, a yarn guide orifice at the intersection point through which yarn is withdrawn with balloon formation and wherein continuity of yarn from one package to the other package is provided through a transfer tail on said one package joined to the leading yarn end of the other package and forming with said leading yarn nd a length of yarn extending between the two packages, the improvement which comprises a resiliently movable guide associated with the length of yarn extending between the two packages for maintaining said length of yarn remote from the balloon at all stages during the unwinding of said one package and for preventing excessive varations in yarn tension during the transfer of the running yarn from said one package to said other .packalge, said guide being located between the more widely spaced ends of said packages and having one of its ends supported close to one of said spaced-apart ends of said packages and having its other end projecting into the intervening space between said packages, said length of yarn being led around said other end of said guide, said guide being responsive to increased tension in said length of yarn occurring after said one package has fully unwound to resiliently move on continued yarn withdrawal so that said length of yarn slips over said other end of said guide and out of contact therewith without substantial increase in tension.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,460,366 2/1949 Seeman 242-157 3,307,805 3/1967 Verbeek 242129.8

LEONARD D. CHRISTIAN, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

